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Monday, November 23, 2009

Private tutoring

Do you enjoy teaching? You may wish to consider some non-clinical private tutoring opportunities in your area. If you're retired and you miss those teaching days, then this may be the perfect opportunity for you to consider.

There are always medical students who are looking for tutors because they struggle with USMLE Step 1 or Step 2. There are other medical students who are seeking tutors because they're struggling with their course work (students always seemed to struggle especially with physiology). Don't live near a medical school? Then you may not have too many clients, but you'll still run into that occasional student who may return home to study for the boards.

When I was a college student at MIT, I began making some extra income by tutoring high school students (science, math, SAT prep, etc.). Then, when I was in medical school, I spent some time tutoring college students (biology, chemistry, MCAT prep, etc.). When I graduated from medical school, I found myself tutoring medical students (primarily with USMLE Step I). So the cycle always seems to continue. Now, I offer career counseling services for physicians, so I'm still teaching (it's not tutoring, but it involves some elements of teaching).

If you like the personal interactions of tutoring, then you may wish to consider this as a part-time venture. It's a great non-clinical job if you want flexibility. You may find that in your area, the need for medical tutors is quite great. As a result, you could have a busy business in no time. You may also find that high school and college students may be very interested in your educational services. If you're a motivated entrepreneur, then you may be quite successful.